


Do you know how Vader became a Sith?

by Laura_Sinele



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Budding Love, Dehydration, Falling In Love, For romantic tropes purposes only, Grand Marshal Armitage Hux, Heat Stroke, Hurt Armitage Hux, Hurt/Comfort, Hux does not trust him, I basically tried to stop TROS from happening, Kylo Ren Redemption, Kylo Ren is back to his senses, Kylux Summer Fest, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Protective Kylo Ren, Self-Indulgent, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, pre-tros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:09:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25534126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laura_Sinele/pseuds/Laura_Sinele
Summary: After the Battle of Crait Ren was insufferable. Then he disappeared on a secret mission, returned only to spend two weeks in isolation and, all of a sudden, he seems to want to actually rule the First Order. Hux was suspicious enough even before Ren made him Grand Marshal before the whole High Command.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 51
Kudos: 211
Collections: Kylux Summer Fest 2020





	1. Self-important Bugs

**Author's Note:**

> I chose te prompts BUG, HEAT and RIPE from the July board. I was going for ABSOLUTE UNADULTERATED CRACK, but it turned out an unexpected trilogy fix-it with some fluff and a tiny little sprinkle of angst.

There had been _questioning_ , and General Hux was more than ready to address it. He already lived with a constant buzzing on the back of his mind caused by the fact that he was still just a General, despite everything he had done. And even that was nothing compared to the sustained annoyance the young, volatile Supreme Leader put him through on a daily basis. Thus, the murmuring and condescension of a handful of old, accommodated Admirals and Marshals wasn’t even a slight inconvenience. A swarm of common flies had a better chance at gathering his attention. 

The High Command shuttle had docked one standard hour ago, more than enough time for the crew to accommodate its members in their quarters and let them refresh themselves. Hux had their upcoming meeting perfectly timed to make them wait just enough to remind them that he, unlike any of them lazy oldbags on their thrones of ancient and arguable glory, was running a fleet, commanding its flagship and responding directly to the Supreme Leader, no less —nevermind that the Supreme Leader was an unpredictable buffoon that had the whole First Order standing at attention with nothing to do since the battle of Crait. Those arrogant, conniving flies were about to meet the swift swat of Hux’s indisputably superior authority. 

Unsuitably for Hux’s planned display of power, however, when the conference room door slid open for him, the High Command, petty officers and assistants gathered there were already at some point between feeling mild discomfort and downright cowering in fear. To the General’s dismay, it was not his extraordinary efficiency, dedication, and fashionable tardiness that caused this reaction, but Kylo Ren himself, helmet foregone, in some almost royal but still austere robes, standing in silence facing the viewport, his hands folded at his back. Two standard weeks had he been secluded, eluding his duty after an escapade he wouldn’t talk about. And he chose today to join them in a meeting that, before his disappearance, he wouldn’t have attended even if begged to.

“Supreme Leader”, said Hux with his usual poorly disguised despise, “we weren’t expecting you to join us”. 

“General Hux”, replied Ren before turning around and taking the chair that presided the table. “We, on the contrary, have been waiting for you for fifteen minutes”. 

The weight of the silence that followed should have altered the ship’s gravitational systems. Hux pressed his lips, looked down for a beat, just enough to gather himself and not throw a tantrum, and resumed his neatly planned entrance, occupying the seat at the other end of the long conference table. 

“Members of the High Command, we are pleased and honoured to have you aboard and hope your lodgings are up to your highest standards”. There was a shy mumble of agreement at that, while those very serious and powerful men got over the vague sense of dread Kylo Ren instilled in them. Then Hux proceeded to assault them with slide after slide and holo-model after holo-model of statistics, profit indexes, expense and saving ratios, annexation prospects, engineering projects… all the while keeping a cautious eye on the Supreme Leader, trying to guess the reason behind his presence in the meeting and, more disturbingly, the reason behind his apparently genuine attention to Hux’s words.

It was common knowledge, at least amongst those with a certain level of clearance, that Kylo Ren had only used his leadership to prosecute the remains of the New Republic and try to deliver a long forgotten revenge over his former family. He had never shown interest in politics or military tactics other than melee, his mind sequestered by his own ambitions and past grudges. Seeing him today, one would say that he had finally realised his prowess would be far more useful if he became involved in the actual matters of the Order he ruled. Hux made a mental note to check if banthas had learned to fly, which was the only reasonable explanation for such a change in the Supreme Leader’s attitude. 

“Thank you for your insightful reports, General”, said Ren over the opinionated old men gathered there trying to make themselves heard. Hux almost believed him. “Now, I understand the members of the High Command have graced us with their presence to discuss another pressing matter that could give us once and for all the upper hand in this war and the complete control of the galaxy”.

Despite himself, Hux babbled and checked frantically his data pad. 

“I have no information on such matter, Supreme Leader”, he admitted.

“Of course you don’t, boy”, said an old fart who had been friends with Brendhol and had participated in Hux’s early childhood many humiliations and constant abuse. “This is highly classified information. You will need to leave the room and let the grown-ups handle this”. 

“Allow me to remind you that I’m still a General, young yes, youngest to achieve this rank, commander of this ship and fleet, and the Supreme Leader’s advisor. You might outrank me but ultimately I answer only to the Supreme Leader’s orders”

Hux had to use all his self control in order to not show his shock at the wave of pleased surprise and complacency Ren projected onto him, not sure if it had been willingly or not. 

“That is true. Your rank is one of two issues we will need to fix in order to tackle the next subject. Therefore, hereby I pronounce you Grand Marshal of the First Order”.

The collective gasp that followed should have caused a malfunction in the air cycling system.  Hux blinked repeatedly, holding Ren’s contented stare. Not only had that mystified brute, that moody manchild, just pronounced him the highest ranked officer in the entire galaxy. He had also used the words “therefore” and “hereby”. 

“Of course”, the Supreme Leader continued after a few seconds of dramatic silence, “there will be an official ceremony, broadcasted throughout the whole First Order influence area, befitting your new rank and political importance. But your promotion is effective now, Grand Marshal Hux”.

Hux tried to remember a moment in which Ren had cared about “political importance” in the slightest. He failed. In doing so he almost, but not quite so, missed the Supreme Leader calling him —almost affectionately— “Grand Marshal Hux”. 

By those words, the High Command had just become even less than a buzzing swarm of flies. It was merely a dead roach in Hux's way. He would simply side-step it without even a thought. 


	2. At your ripe age

The Secretary cleared their throat before reading out loud the summary and conclusions of the meeting. It was agreed that the planet known as BRS-11L, if not conquered, would suppose a threat to the Order, given their advanced technology and the fact that Force sensitivity was so common amongst its inhabitants that they didn’t even considered it something other than a motor skill. On the other hand, if conquered, it would provide not only a valuable tactical settlement, but also a steady source of feedstock and many other raw materials. 

BRS-11L was inhabited by two different Force sensitive intelligent species, at least two hundred primitively intelligent species that were also Force sensitive, and several million other types of lifeforms, most of which were arboreal reptiles, aquatic organisms and/or insectoids. The better part of the planet’s surface was salt water, a third of the land was humid, impossibly hot, dense jungle, and the rest dry, impossibly hot, rocky desert. The intelligent species had very advanced technology, lived in semi-burrowed buildings respecting fiercely the ecosystem, and most importantly, had very rigid, almost religious societal norms. 

“What kind of norms?”, had asked the newly appointed Grand Marshal when the subject rose during the meeting. 

Taking great, visible pleasure in being the one to explain this, the Supreme Leader answered: “They barely have a concept of individuality. They mate in couples or groups and they have a role in society as a whole unit. Any business, project or initiative has to be presided and defended by all thus related individuals”. 

Ren said no more, and the briefing continued, and the Secretary read the summary, and Hux was still scorching the Supreme Leader with the most intense glare he had ever produced. Because he knew what was next. He resisted to believe it, but he knew positively what was next. Kylo Ren was going to arrange Hux’s marriage. The Grand Marshal title was only a small mercy, a piece of candy before taking away from him the only thing the First Order had never had control over: his celibacy, preserved with fervent zeal since his graduation.

The Secretary ended their recollection saying: “The High Command, the Grand Marshal and the Supreme Leader of the First Order have established the best approach towards the annexation of BRS-11L is a diplomatic effort given the natives knowledge of Basic and their apparent sympathy towards our first contact missions”.

“Which leads to our second issue regarding the Grand Marshal’s involvement in said mission. It would be an insult to our future allies to send an emissary of a lower rank. However, they would not trust a single person, and you Hux, at your ripe age, have yet to form a partnership of the sexual, romantic or even political kind”. 

“You are no tender child yourself and also single, Supreme Leader”, spat Hux before he could think better.

At this Kylo Ren did something the present company would have deemed impossible. He laughed. A soft, genuinely amused chuckle accompanied by a smile that remained in his face while he talked, lighting up his usually brooding features.

“I am five good years younger than you, but I guess you are right, Grand Marshal. That is why I decided for us to wed”. 

Hux stood up as if he had been sitting on a spring.

“You are kidding, Ren!”, he blurted.

“Why, I am not. I am a single man and so are you. We are the highest authority of the Order. It is only appropriate for the two of us to play the part”.

“Oh, Supreme Leader!”, laughed nervously one of the Admirals. “You should have started there. If it’s only pretend…”

“I did not say pretend, Admiral. I said play the part. Of course the Grand Marshal and I will marry, and we will do so publicly. We shall even adopt children amongst our poorest colonies too. That will boost morale and grant us a favorable public opinion after such a long, expensive and brutal war. But for now, we have a diplomatic mission to fulfill, and what is diplomacy but a play? That’s what I was referring to as a part”

Hux had always despised Ren for his mysticism, arrogance and emotional outbursts. He had very openly wished for a more approachable, intelligent and educated leader. One that could lead an army and play politics with the same effortless grace. One like himself. Now, this Ren, suddenly embodying all those qualities, was even more terrifying than the one that would strangle him at any given time without warning. But not as much as not having a single clue on why had Ren’s disposition changed so drastically.


	3. Heat Stroke

There was a third issue no one had taken into account. Not even Hux, always prepared for virtually anything. It was the weather.

Kylo Ren, as Ben Solo, had spent his life mostly planetside, and he came from a long line of desert dwellers. On top of that, his strong conexion to the Force helped him endure the most dire climates. 

Quite the opposite, Armitage Hux had grown in the cold, humid Arkanis, never seeing a ray of sunshine through its ever rainy skies, only to be promptly stationed aboard spacecraft, rarely entering an atmosphere other than the wintery Starkiller. 

He had been informed about their hosts customs and protocol. Both dominant anthropomorphic species disregarded clothes in general, their anatomies not leaving any vulnerable body part unprotected and the weather being so intensely hot. However, they were  _ respectful  _ towards the First Order traditions and would allow for the Supreme Leader, the Grand Marshal and their entourage to cover themselves  _ should they wish to do so _ . 

Hux would have never entertained nudism, and the mere suggestion was, more than insulting, deeply unsettling. He hoped Ren would have a modicum of common sense and keep himself dressed. Yet as distressing as he found the fact that he had been given  _ permission  _ to cover himself, the impending reality was that he was facing endless hours of rituals, ceremonies, plaisanteries and closed door negotiations in his brand new Grand Marshal gala whites at almost twice the temperature at which he would typically lose his decorum and strip down to his tank top and pants —an event that hadn’t taken place since one particular week of extreme conditions simulation during his training years. 

Any lamentation was futile now, since their shuttle was about to land. Still bitter about the Supreme Leader’s backstabbing maneuver that lead to their unilateral and undisputable engagement, Hux straightened his pristine white dress coat covered in medals, and took the arm Ren was offering. He was dressed in black and red, with richer fabrics than usual but in the same almost monastic style he favoured, standing at the end of a double line of troopers in front of the still closed ramp, while looking at Hux with a smirk. Those newfound expressions of amusement, good-humored mischief, and sometimes even happiness in Ren’s face were oddly the most disturbing part of all this surreal charade the Supreme Leader was playing. 

“You look dashing, intended. Now if you would just smile for half a second, maybe they’ll believe we are a couple”.

A sardonic laugh escaped the Grand Marshal.

“Oh, but we are a couple, aren’t we? As per your command. I didn’t thought I had any saying in it, much less any  _ smiling _ ”, he said, eyes pointedly trained on the back of the trooper in front on him.

“Are you unhappy with your new rank and its perks? I thought you would realise that our marriage will make you Supreme Leader Consort. That title added to Grand Marshal, technically gives you more authority than I have”.

Hux’s eyes widened imperceptibly at that.

“As if you were going to let me use it. Please, Ren, let us just get over with this and save your wordplay for those who actually fall for it. We both know this circus ends with my tragic but inevitable death at some point”.

Ren chuckled as the locks clasped open and the ramp started to lower. He leant in and whispered in Hux’s ear:

“I admit I have wanted to kill you since we first met. If I still wanted to, though, why would I promote you to absolut overlord of my armies and secure your status by making you my spouse? I don’t want your demise, dearest. I need you to turn this mockery of the old Empire in a new, strong regime worthy of our names”.

As the ramp touched the ground, Hux shuddered off the ghost of Ren’s breath and words. He put on his best diplomatic smile hoping it wasn’t too rusty, and descended to the landing platform, arm in arm with the Supreme leader.

The trooper’s suits had thermoregulators. Ren was a freak of nature. But Hux was only human, and he had known this was coming. He simply had been unable to stop it, somehow. The people here gave reverential importance to the preservation of the environment. Their landing platforms were set at the coast, over the sea or, in this case, far above the treetops, accessible by a sophisticated system of Force powered elevators and small aircraft. This meant the suns hit the platform with full force, and there wasn’t any kind of vegetation to soften the blow. 

Not long after the official presentations, while Ren was charming their hosts with polite, informed conversation, Hux started to feel his head spin. When they started to walk, he would have sworn his legs had turned into some high density gelatine of infinite mass. Before he could even ask for assistance, he fainted on the Supreme Leader’s receiving arms. 


	4. Explanations

Many of the scars his upbringing had left on him had proven very useful. It was the case of a very rare skill amongst non Force sensitive humans: to wake up with an unusually precise knowledge of his surroundings. 

Before even opening his eyes, Hux knew he was in an underground room, and he was certain there was someone else there with him. By the time he realised it was Kylo Ren, he decided to keep his eyes closed and his body stil, but couldn’t suppress a deep, annoyed sigh. 

“Don’t pretend to be asleep”, drawled Ren, somewhere at his left. “You have to hydrate. They brought an isotonic drink for you”

“This is most inappropriate, Supreme Leader. I am naked under this poor excuse for a bedding”, replied Hux, trying to balance dignity and a feigned drowsiness, blinking his eyes open but making a point to not look at Ren, who laughed. 

“I have two bad news for you, Grand Marshal. The first is the sheet covering you is so thin it is almost completely see-through”, at this Hux sat up like a bolt and folded his arms and legs to cover himself, earning another short fit of laughter from Ren. “The second is, who do you think undressed you?”

Hux finally looked at Ren, seething with offense. He found him sitting in a chair of sorts, oddly relaxed, legs way too confidently apart, and his arms thrown back over the back rest, looking like an overly conceited small time criminal in some forsaken Outer Rim joint. He had changed into a white shirt and plain black trousers, and was idly brushing the grass that carpeted the room with his bare feet. He was the picture of everything Armitage Hux had made himself hate. 

Hux closed his eyes, lowered his head and took a deep breath.

“Get out of the room this instant”, he said calmly. No: he commanded. 

“Hux…”

“Get out of here”.

“I’m not going anywhere”.

“Get out!”, Hux bellowed, causing Ren to tense and stand up with a stern look on his face. Still, he didn’t leave the room. 

They played a little stare down contest for a few seconds, until Hux’s strained body gave up to a bout of real dizziness. Ren strode around the stupidly wide bed, took the container with the beverage and sat down next to Hux, holding him up gently by his nape with one hand, and lightly pressing the container brim to his lips with the other. Hux, even overcome by vertigo and shivers, refused to drink, looking at him defiantly with his lips pressed shut. 

“Are you going to die of stubborness, you vexatious little man?”, Ren whispered in frustration, holding Hux steadily and looming over him, at barely three inches from his face. 

“We are roughly the same height, you self-absorbed gigantic fool. And I’d rather die on my own terms than live waiting for you to kill me on a whim”, he hissed with all the defiance he could muster in his condition. 

“Drink”, ordered Ren using the Force, and in that instant, while he unwillingly complied and felt the refreshing liquid bring him back to life, Hux realised he hadn’t been subject to the Force since Ren’s return and confinement previous to the dreadful meeting with the High Command.

When he finished the drink, Hux let himself lie down in abnegation, not bothering anymore about his poorly concealed nudity, nor Kylo Ren’s presence. They kept quiet, Ren half sitting in the bed, hands on his hips and a concerned frown on his face; Hux lying face up, the gauzy fabric ruffled, covering him only from his knees to his solar plexus. He used the time to reflect again on the changes in Ren’s demeanor and what should Hux expect from the whole Supreme Leader Consort and Grand Marshal scenario. The matter had been occupying his mind, at least in the background, for the entirety of the time between the meeting and their arrival today at BRS-11L. Ren’s suddenly abundant strikes of amiability, collaborativeness and, most shockingly, political and strategic knowledge, had done nothing but increase the assiduousness with which Hux allowed himself to bring said reflection to the forefront of his already overcrowded thought process. 

“Why?”, asked Hux after a while. 

“Why what?”

“Why wha– You know what I’m talking about, do your magic tricks and read my mind if not!”, replied Hux irkly. 

“Why what, Hux?”, insisted Ren, leaning on over him slightly, resting his weight on one arm.

Hux sat up, barely containing his exasperation, letting the sheet ride down and pool at his lap, while gesturing vigorously.

“Why all this?! Why the entirely different personality, the lack of verbal, physical or Force abuse? Not that I’m not relieved, but why? Why this newfound interest in politics and strategy and social matters? What happened between Crait and this abrupt change of mood? How did you went from secretly commiting high treason with the sole purpose of using the First Order for your petty revenge to turn your back on the Resistance and play diplomacy? And why, oh why, of all people, would you want to marry me?!”

Hux let his arms drop on his lap, panting noticeably. Ren followed the movement and pinned his eyes on Hux’s wriggling, entwined fingers for a couple of beats. 

“I’d been having dreams”, he said finally.

Hux looked at him in exasperated confusion and sputtered. 

“What sort of– What are you doing?!”

“I’m laying down. There’s plenty of room and the mattress feels comfortable”, Ren replied matter-of-factly as he crossed his arms under his head and wiggled a little to fit more comfortably next to Hux. 

Hux looked at him unbelievingly from his sitting position, with an eyebrow arched in annoyance and his lips pressed in resignation. Deciding he couldn’t fight him off in his current state, he lay down again, begrudgingly grateful for the fact that Ren hadn’t tried to get under the sheet. 

“As I was saying, I’d been having dreams. The sort of dreams the Force can induce. Only these were too rushed and nonsensical to be visions of the future”. 

“What exactly were you seeing that was so unbelievable?”, asked Hux disdainfully.

“Well, for instance, in my dreams Darth Sidious, the Emperor, was alive and had been using Snoke to lure me to him”

Hux scoffed.

“There was also the fact that I kissed the scavenger girl”

“You what?”

“And you became a Resistance spy only out of spite towards me”

“I what?!”, Hux exclaimed, propping himself up on his left elbow to look at Ren. “I would never betray the Order because of your ineptitud as a leader!”

“I know. You’d rather organise a mutiny”

“Or I would stage a rebel attempt on your life”

“Or you’d kill me yourself in my sleep as you have always fantasised of”, Ren said almost fondly. 

“You know about that?”

“Mhm. That’s what made me suspicious of the visions. I was blinded with rage all the time, and just one meltdown apart from losing my last drop of sanity, but I knew you, I was so sure I knew you to the last of your secret wishes and desires. I knew you so well I was able to use that certainity to steady myself and find out what was really going on”.

“What was it then?”, inquired Hux as he lay down again with a vague sense of guilt or defeat or maybe flattery.

“Oh, the truth was Darth Sidious was alive and had been using Snoke to lure me to him”.

“What?!”, yelled Hux scrambling to sit up again and look into Ren’s peaceful face. He even had his eyes closed, and for a moment his only answer was another sluggish “Mhm”, before he opened his eyes and resumed his tale. 

“It doesn’t matter. Unlike in the dreams, I killed him. This time for good. I know it because I could feel the chains break inside me. I had freed myself from my uncle, from my grandfather, from Snoke, and finally from him. And I woke up in the middle of a war, leading an interplanetary nation in shambles. I entertained the idea of leaving without a trace, since I couldn’t go back to my mother and ask for forgiveness expecting her to take me in. But I noticed there wasn’t that constant rage fogging my thoughts anymore. I could make decisions on my own terms, now. So I decided to stay and actually rule the First Order”.

Hux had his eyes trained on Ren, looking beyond puzzled.

“Why?”

“Because it needs ruling, that’s why. The war was a ruse orchestrated by Sidious in the shadows, and it needs to end. Planets need to thrive, people need to eat. Engineers need to build, not destroy”, he finished pointedly. 

“And you want  _ me  _ to rule the First Order with you?”

“I do”.

Hux covered his face, tensing his whole body in frustration.

“But why, why, why?! Why me when you know I would have killed you? When you said yourself you had always wanted to kill me?”

Ren propped himself up on his right elbow to close the distance between them. 

“Do you know the story of how Vader became a Sith?”

“No”.

“He fell in love. But the Jedi were celibate. Sidious took that love and his dilemma, and turned them into a hate that destroyed everything”.

“Very nice, but what does it have to do with anything happening now?”

“It shows that if love can become hate, hate can turn into love”.

Hux opened his eyes wide.

“I swear, Ren, you have to be joking right now or I’ll kill you with my own bare hands!”

Ren kissed Hux on the lips, abruptly and passionately, but for no longer than a beat. 

“Leave”, whispered Hux when it was over. “Now, Supreme Leader”.

“Alright”, breathed Ren, getting off the bed and walking backwards towards the door, hands up in surrender. 

“When I am required to attend my duties, don’t dare coming yourself for me. Send someone else”.

“Alright”, he said again before leaving, with a lopsided smile that told Hux Ren knew everything there was to know about him.


	5. Negotiations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW:  
> Small appearance of blood  
> Subtly implied past sexual abuse

“I am not a whore, nor a ladder”, said Hux. 

He was looking at the starry sky ahead, over the distant sea, through a clearing in the forest, atop of a hill.

“I know”, replied Ren from his back. Hux’s ability to notice him before seeing him still had an effect on Ren. It used to be fury, now it was endearment. 

They had reached the end of their diplomatic visit, spent in debates and agreements, and this was the last night they were going to share that enormous bed while ignoring each other, down in the subterranean chamber Hux woke up in the day of their arrival. 

Hux finally turned around to an unexpectedly topless and barefoot Ren. At Hux’s frown upon his state of disrobe, Ren defended himself:

“I had already changed to sleep, but you weren’t in bed as usual. I was worried”

Hux scoffed. Ren walked to the tree next to Hux and rested his back against it, facing the Grand Marshal who was still wearing his formal attire. 

“I was worried, Hux”, he insisted. “It is night, the terrain is difficult, and there are venomous insects the size of my fist here”.

“It would save you the effort if something happened to me”.

“Enough of that. I don’t want you dead. Not anymore”.

“Not since I’m useful, apparently. A trophy husband to peace out those against you?”.

There was a scenario in Hux’s mind, in which Ren was fed up with Hux’s passive-aggressions and would shove him against the tree and strangle him. That would give Hux an excellent opportunity to stab the Supreme Leader repeatedly between his ribs. However, Ren’s only movement was to straighten up, breath deeply and adopt a devastated expression. 

“What did they do to you?”

“What do you mean?”. Hux knew exactly what he meant. 

“I’m not reading your mind, Hux. I only pick up what you send off, and now I’m picking up disgust and hate towards some people who are already dead. The same way I picked up relief when I kissed you”.

Hux drew off his blade and placed it across Ren’s throat. 

“I won’t be your toy. If you make me, prepare to end up like them”

Ren surged forward, closing the distance between them and kissing Hux voraciously, as the monomolecular blade cut into his skin. When he broke the kiss, he pushed Hux against the opposite tree, the blade clattering at their feet. 

“If I wanted a toy I would have ordered a toy, not gotten engaged to a handful of a Grand Marshal and chief engineer with childhood trauma and bad blood between us”.

“Then what do you want, Ren?”, said Hux between gritted teeth.

“I want you!”, Ren exclaimed, searching Hux’s face for a sign that he had finally understood. “I have no more hate left, no more murderous rage, no master to please. The only thing I have is the will to right wrongs and this incommensurable passion without a name that zeroes on you!”

“The name is lust, Supreme Leader, and you have two perfectly good hands to take care of it yourself, no need for me to get involved”.

Ren backed off and breathed out heavily. When he spoke he sounded tired and defeated:

“If you ask me not to touch you ever again, I won’t. But I’ll still ask you, for the Order, to be my spouse and lead with me. For myself, I only want you to never be afraid again, least of all of me”.

Hux looked at him for a while, in the light of the stars, under the shadows casted by the trees. He realised he didn’t feel an urge to kill him, as usual. He realised he had let himself be kissed and kissed back. He remembered the very brief and yet overwhelming first kiss. He wondered where had his own murderous rage gone.

“It’s all for the sake of the First Order?”

“It’s all for the sake of its subjects”. 

“So you want to do good now? Be a proper leader? Make sure everybody is fed and has a place to stay?”

“I was used and manipulated. I don’t have a purpose anymore. The way I see it, I either fix my errors or hide away like my uncle did, regretting my whole life until the day I die”.

Hux considered those words, and all the unexpectedly sensible orders given and decisions taken by Ren since his change of ways. 

“And you also want to adopt orphans?”, he laughed bitterly, imagining how his life would have been if a repentant dark lord had adopted him as a mean of expiation. “Go ahead, then. Be the saviour of the galaxy, a just and honorable and thoughtful ruler. I’ll be your Grand Marshal. But I still don’t understand why should I agree to be your consort”.

“You don’t have to. I’m asking you anyway”.

“Why? You could pick anyone. You don’t need me”. 

“No. But I love you”. 

Hux stared at Ren for a few beats, fighting off his sudden inclination to trust him. 

“Are you playing your mind tricks on me?”

“Does it feel like I am?”, Ren asked amusedly.

“It doesn’t. But I can’t know for sure. I don’t feel like I know anything for sure”.

“That’s new”, said Ren, and he laughed softly. 

Then Hux kissed Ren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the fic of mine that has gotten the most overwhelming response. I am very grateful for it since I wrote it as a means of warming up and reacquaint myself with writing, after a long-ish bipolar episode. That and the fact that it didn't turn put as I planned made me a bit unattached from it. I didn't expect it to gather such an attention an such positive, uplifting comments, and thanks to it I was able to rewrite parts of it in order to make it look tidier. 
> 
> Thank you so, so much for reading, leaving kudos and commenting. If I don't manage to answer you all, know that I've read you and your support is truly, deeply appreciated.


End file.
